Dodgers decide to end the Joc Pederson first base experiment

With a fifteen game lead in the division, the Dodgers had some time to experiment with a few things. Putting Joc Pederson at first base was one of those experiments.

When the Dodgers first announced Joc would get time at first base, many fans were excited about Dave Roberts’ decision.  Fans were eager to see if Pederson could get comfortable at the position and give the Dodgers some more depth with the lineup.

The experiment was to get Pederson comfortable at first base and see if he could play there in the postseason. The idea behind this was to help with the lineup crunch and ensure more playing time for other outfielders such as A.J. Pollock, Alex Verdugo, and Matt Beaty.

Pederson played 20 games at first base over the last month, and it appears as if his time there has come to an end, for now. In theory, it was a great idea and seemed to make sense for the lineup. Sadly, the execution just was not there.  Joc had a -24.5 UZR/150 rating in 149 innings at first base.

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During Pederson’s time at first base, he struggled both offensively and defensively. On the field, he had six errors along with several other bad plays that eventually cost several runs for the Dodgers.  Even just watching Joc play first, it was easy to see he often looked uncomfortable and awkward making plays.

Luckily for the Dodgers, the experiment wasn’t very damaging, due to their large lead in the division. At the plate he struggled, hitting only .227 with an OPS of .660, a drastic decrease in production for him compared to his first few months of the season.

A key issue with first base has been the number of utility players that are on the injured list. David Freese, Chris Taylor, and Kike Hernandez are all players can play first base exceptionally well. Pederson’s stint there was to fill the void while inserting him in the starting lineup on a daily basis. Verdugo’s emergence made it harder to fit everyone into the lineup regularly.

Although his time at first base was short-lived and a struggle, Pederson deserves props for being open to trying something new in order to help the team out in any way possible. We can only hope he goes back to his old ways and succeeds back in the outfield.  Sticking at a familiar position could help spark an offensive turnaround.